In a second vote on last week’s procedural vote, the Senate has once again endorsed the McConnell amendment, which expresses non-binding opposition to the US withdrawing from either Afghanistan or Syria, citing the idea that Iran or Russia might take advantage.
The vote was 70-26, with overwhelming Republican support. The only Republicans to vote no were Sens. Ted Cruz (TX), Rand Paul (KY), John Kennedy (LA), and Mike Lee (UT). Democrats were more split on the matter.
Conspicuously, however, the Democratic Party Senators who opposed the amendment include everyone who has set themselves up to run for president in 2020. They may believe this further splits them ideologically from the Republican Senate leadership.
When the procedural vote on this amendment was passed last week, it was seen as a major rebuke to President Trump. It can be seen as somewhat less-so at this point, as President Trump has been backpedaling on planned military pullouts since then, and talking up keeping at least some troops in the countries.
With Trump seemingly tilting toward their way of thinking at any rate, it is unclear what the amendment’s purpose is at this point, whether the Republican leadership believes it is needed to keep pushing Trump toward their line of thinking, or just doing a victory lap. The danger, of course, is that President Trump’s position on these pullouts seems remarkably malleable, and another round of media coverage on the Senate pushing against his previously stated position might risk shifting the pendulum back toward him defending a pullout.
Either way, the resolution is wholly non-binding. There is no legal basis for them to block a pullout from Afghanistan if a peace deal were reached, and since the Senate never authorized troops to be in Syria in the first place, they definitely have no way to stop them from leaving.
This makes such votes purely for show, with the assumption that President Trump’s opinion may hinge on the vote, and media response that follows. While it’s entirely speculative what is changing Trump’s mind, it’s clear he’s shifted toward keeping the wars going for now.
Another example that both parties are corporate and war parties…. the packaging is different, but the content is the same.
It’s also an example of removing the options you don’t want chosen.
It will just help Trump get re-elected if he can manage to exploit it well enough. Or leave an opening for a anti war candidate outside of the duopoly to run.
Time will tell.
Senator Brown of Ohio who may become a candidate in 2020 voted nay. I think that the motivations and ideologies of politicians are a bit more complicated than can be covered by the word “duopoly”. Most want to be re-elected hence Candidate/President Trump’s positions on troop withdrawals and negotiation overtures with North Korea which resonate in much of the electorate may well move some Democratic candidates towards an antiwar position.
Given the vote totals of 2016 and 2018 the ‘duopoly’ is still extremely firmly entrenched among the voters hence an outsider in 2020 cannot be anything else than a so-called spoiler.
Their reality isn’t at all complicated, that’s why they can’t change position without losing funding.
The voters aren’t entrenched they are captured.
No, arithmetic says they are not the same.
Note: 22 of the 26 nay votes were Democrats plus Sanders. Hence it is the Democratic Senators who support President Trump’s position! Also the Democratic nay voters were mostly left of center Senators. The “injection” of the new left-leaning youngsters into the House is already having effects in the Senate.
All of the declared Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate voted nay.
The pattern in the past elections has been to “talk” peace, because that’s what helps them get elected, but once in office, they become Empire Builders which most of them were in the first place.
All of this pre-election posturing is meaningless. Democrats in the Senate can vote nay knowing that the measure is a done deal. When they start to vote nay on funding for Israel, the Pentagon, and all of these f-ing wars, let me know. I’ll start paying attention again.
On the one hand, yes, pols calculate how they can vote against an outcome they want, because their constituents don’t want that outcome, while knowing they’ll still get said outcome.
For example, Ron Paul was the biggest porker in the Houston area. He would stuff every budget bill with earmarks for everything from “researching better shrimping techniques for Houston-based fishermen” to “building a nursing school in Houston.” Then he would vote against the bill, knowing it was going to pass.
That way, he could tell his constituents back home that he was bringing them the bacon, while simultaneously bragging to his libertarian fundraising base that he was voting against the big spending in Washington.
Nonetheless, a vote is a vote. The Democrats who voted against continued war in Syria and Afghanistan DID vote that way. As opposed to just talking that way, which is what we’ve seen from Trump so far.
No wonder those Senators get rich while in “public service”.
John,,”public service’,,what a JOKE!!!
That’s why I put it in quotation marks.
John,,I was in total agreement with you. 🙂
Trump should dump Pence and select Tulsi Gabbard as VP in 2020, and then dump the neocons in his Administration. He would win in a landslide
What a waste. VP’s are useless. Besides, I’d imagine Gabbard would rather eat glass than have to spend four years with Trump.
The case of cheney says otherwise.
Of course the big Dick came to mind immediately but I thought “useless” was a good description of him also. At least for the majority of humankind.
If he was the kind of man who would do anything remotely like that, he wouldn’t be the Trump we have gotten to know. Face it: he is who he is, a neocon and Christofascist enabler
He appears to be more of a Judeo enabler than a Christian enabler.
Got a point there 🙂
But he can be both … after all, a man can dream …
Caliman, You suffer from a most severe case of TDS, try to say something without the baseless slams against our clueless POTUS.
As the Bible says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” … positioning Mr. mustache and Neocon Pompeo to do real damage tells you what about our esteemed Mr. T?
Won’t work, his strongest base is evangelicals, pence people.
Dave, Evangelicals have no choice, it is Prez. Trump and Pence or the abortion, infanticide, radical liberal socialists of the Dem. party who dance with the devil daily. Look what they displayed at the Brett K. hearings,,,,back the Dems,,,no way Dave!
Couple more Supreme court picks and you will have your pro-rape court.
Dave, You are way out of line my friend!! Clearly you have a problem with the facts,,, or shall I say no facts and no evidence,,at all….GEEZ!
Uh huh, but “infanticide” is in bounds in your world….
Dave, Infanticide is now the thing with the great democrat party, where have you been???? This is the prime example that there is no compromise with evil,,,it digs deeper and deeper in it deception and ruination,,FIRST Roe-Wade,,,,,NOW INFANTICIDE,,,point made! Who’s next???
If men were the child bearers there would be an abortion clinic in every town in America. There would be large screen TV’s to watch sporting events with beer and wings being served while men waited for their appointment. Roe vs. Wade would never have existed because having an abortion would have been included in the bill of rights. There would also be no talk of abortions pissing off the sky fairy because he is a man too after all.
wars, you are a blatant HYPOCRITE,,,anti-war but pro abortion and infanticide!!! Can’t take you serious wars!!
When did I ever say I was pro abortion?
Donald Trump suddenly stopped supporting abortion (and single-payer healthcare) when he decided only the Republican Party was dumb enough to nominate him for president. If he gets a second term but a Democratic Congress, he’ll likely flop, having already flipped.
Thomas, flipped,,OK,,,just like all of Obama and hillery’s flips. LOL!!
Exactly. Just like Clinton, and just like Obama. Except for the hair and the size of the welfare checks.
And he should immediately fire Pompeo and put Tulsi in as Sec of State. Then groom her for 2024. Then Lawrence Wilkerson as Sec of Defense, and Col. Douglas McGregor as Nat Sec advisor w/Scott Ritter at his side (Bolton and Abrams “redirected” to orange jumpsuits).
Amazing, no? Attack women, he gets excuses. Favor a useless wall and shut down government, excuses. Enable and excuse fascists, he gets excuses.
But attempt to end a couple of wars we should have never been in? Attack attack attack! Shows you what’s really important.
No (seeing you asked).
The stench on this one is overwhelming but that qualifier “overwhelming” no longer seems to work anymore-it is common place coming out of that nest of corruption. AMCHam donahue is behind this and is vile.
A question, just asking, as to some of the no votes: cardin, one of the prime money grubbers, voted no? AmCham donahue’s money did not get to cardin?
Who cares what the House and Senate have to say.